Happy 32nd!

I think we're all over our back-to-school plague. It went around the four of us twice, making for some pretty crummy days. Luca missed a total of 3 days of school. Michael missed 2 days of work. We filled over a dozen prescriptions. I've done so much laundry, trying to make sure we don't reinfect ourselves at night and when the kids cuddle their special blankets. We Lysol-ed everything we could think of. We put a moratorium on kisses. Isla is especially hard to deal with, being so small, with such a sensitive gag reflex and irrational fear of medicine. She ended up needing two doses of an inject-able antibiotic because she couldn't keep the oral medicine down.

But we're finally feeling like ourselves again, just in time to celebrate Michael's 32nd birthday! I don't feel like I do a very good job of celebrating birthdays. I just never make much of a fuss. I'm not sure why this is--I really appreciate special rituals in general, but I've never hopped on the birthday bandwagon. I admire people who are great at parties--like Alicia whose daughter has a birthday coming up in October and I can't wait to see the party she throws. Or Ginny, whose family keeps things pretty simple with so many birthdays to celebrate, but it's always so heartfelt and special.

I managed a cake this year, and one surprise gift, and another one he picked out that arrived just in time. Gita watched the kiddos so we could go out for lunch the day before. Luca helped me decorate the cake. We each ate a big piece, with the obligatory candles and song. We didn't incinerate the cake :)

Hi and welcome to A Lovely Homemade Life! I'm Jennie--a stay at home mom to two beautiful kiddos, Luca and Isla, and wife to Michael. Sometimes our life feels sort of crazy, but it's always crafty! Follow along for all sorts of posts about our crafting adventures!